The Mission
by veelawithmorals
Summary: Set during the Deathly Hallows from the point of view of Hermione as she and Ron work to destroy Helga Hufflepuff's cup in the Chamber of Secrets. Hermione struggles between her feelings with Ron and the potential of either (or both) of them dying for their cause. Just a warning, its romantic but I'm all about the build up! :o) Obviously a Ron/Hermione pairing.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The hallway was unsurprisingly dark. After all, it was in the middle of a moonless night. Pressing against the cold wall, dipping into new corridors. After a year gone, it was surprisingly easy to get lost. The castle had morphed and adapted in a way to accommodate the evil. Or rather, attack the evil, much like the way a body would a virus. It was hard not to internally recite A History of Hogwarts passages as Hermione mulled this over. _"...in prior case Hogwarts has proven to have a natural purging process in the case of evil: a concept encouraged by the magical works of wizards yet continued by the castle itself as a defense mechanism..."_

She felt Ron press into her and push her closer to the stone wall. It was hard not to feel a brief flicker of annoyance. "Ronald.." Her voice was barely a whisper but in the ominous silence of the stone castle, came out as if audibly spoken. "Bloody hell Hermione, I'm cramped in this hallway myself", came back the much louder whisper.

She instinctively shushed him, and they passed below a dimly lit torch long enough for Hermione to recognize a familiar grimace. He was looking rough, his face being a mirror to the hardships of the year; hair sticking up and dirt so thick you forgot about the freckles. It seemed so circular and surreal that in their end he was ruddy and covered in dirt, just as he had in that first meeting on the Hogwarts Express. The thought made her heart fill, and there was an intense unexplainable desire to touch his face.

He was worn and tired, but had never been so beautiful. His quick ease to lay out a plan for them. Not only a typical thoughtless ruddy Ronald plan. Something that could work. They pushed into another corridor and they were nearly there.

Then all at once Hermione was gripped by the cruelty of it all. Their whole memories were passing by in a blur and with the deeper they went into the castle, the more these memories were becoming meaningless. It felt intensely raw to be aware of it, but this was the day she would die. Her life, that felt so real and necessary, was meaningless in the eyes of her cause.

She felt Ron push into her again and the tears finally began to flow. She would never have more with Ronald. These 7 years of shallow arguing and confusing mixed signals would be it. That would be their love story. Nothing more than a petty high school friendship. He would never know that she cried the whole way through Hogwarts that night. He would never know how she was gripped with the sheer injustice of a love with unfulfilled potential. Her heart pounded and ached and she gripped the castle wall, it would have been such a great love. But he would never know. They would die long before she had reason to tell him. It was the wrong time to tell him; they had a mission. It was then that they reached the bathroom.


	2. Chapter 2

It felt strange to be back in the bathroom. There had been so few times to even think about this bathroom since their second year. It was clearly the same. She pushed aside her sick thoughts on Ron. She needed to focus on this moment. There was after all, a mission.

Ron, who had been walking ahead, turned back to grin. It was a troublesome Weasley grin, an easy to recognize scene when spending enough time with the Weasley twins. Hermione automatically averted her eyes. He obviously hadn't noticed her tear stained face, but she could already sense where this was going "Thinking of all those fond year two memories, Ronald?"

Ron shook his head, grinning. He walked toward the sink to pretend to expertly examine the metal snake embellishment. Finally he stopped to wickedly grin "So are we going to ignore the hairball in the room Hermione?"

She felt her face turning crimson despite the lack of surprise. "I looked fabulous." Ron's grin grew. She couldn't resist adding the immature retort. " Besides I would imagine that a cat would look utterly ridiculous with red hair and freckles, so consider yourself lucky." He stared at her in surprise for a moment before grinning his widest Ronald grin. "Bloody hell Hermione, when did you get so sassy"

"Oh you know, battling the darkest wizard in the world does things to you." For the first time in awhile they both laughed a long real laugh. Granted, it was confined to a quiet whispered shuddering laugh, but it was real.

_This doesn't have to be the end._ Watching Ron show signs of genuine happiness was enough revive her slim belief in survival. _There has to be something more than this. This can't be it_

They gradually calmed down and sat in silence, staring at one another. But for the briefest moment, she saw a flicker of his true emotions beneath the steady walking and careful planning; Unashamed fear. As if sensing her scrutinization, he looked away and pulled on his loyal brave _Ron_ face. It was strange to question, but when was it that he had transitioned from a child that had begged for mercy at the hands of the Devil-Snare plants into a man that delivered bravery first hand. Was this an example of growing up or an example of innocence destroyed by war?

He cleared his throat and once again leaned down to inspect the sink. "I don't know if I have the suave Parseltounging abilities for this sink."

"Parselmouth, Ronald"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Well if you're so clever, why don't you give it a go?" Hermione twitched and took a step back in annoyance "Me? I wasn't even down here when you two opened it." Ron shrugged "Just make some snake noises. It's easy when you pretend like you know what you're doing. You have the brains, chances are you're more likely to get it than I am" Her usual bossy retort was silenced by the surprising compliment. Ron, as if sensing her internal battle, hastily added on, "But not _that_ likely"

Hermione sighed, "I don't know if this will work." She felt genuinely helpless. Why had this idea seemed so smart before? He shrugged, eyes clouded and serious. "We have to at least try Hermione. We can't spend the rest of the night relying on Harry for direction. This is a war, and we have to learn how to be self-reliant and be able to lessen the load for him." She was surprised at the sudden change. "When did you get so mature Ronald?" He forced a hollow laugh "Oh you know, battling the darkest wizard in the world does things to you." This time they didn't laugh.

Hermione finally let out a long frustrated sigh. She needed to be confident and necessary. Ron was right, intelligence _was _a lot more to go on rather than 'winging it.' She gave him a wry smile, unable to resist the excitement of a brain challenge "Well I _could_ always try to replicate the noises that Harry spoke during the duel. I mean _obviously_ I don't remember precisely but I _do_ remember a distinctive language pattern that really seemed to-"

"Bloody hell Hermione. Ten points to Gryffindor." Ron was clutching at his eyes dramatically. He still had that same sick look in his eyes. But at least he was joking again. "Just _try something_." Hermione sighed. _Unappreciated intelligence._ She stared at him in annoyance.. Then drew closer and examined the sink, running her fingers along the metallic snake embellishments. She was distinctively aware of Ron's searching eyes resting on her the whole time. For a brief second they made eye contact. She paused and looked down, suddenly feeling nervous, before letting out a series of calculated squabbled hissing noises.

They both stared at one another in anticipation as the seconds trickled by. When it was obvious that the sink had no intention of opening, Ron shook his head. "I told you to speak Parselmouth, not German you nerd" Her eyes narrowed and lip trembled with annoyance. "Well _if you're so clever,_ why don't _you_ give it a go?"

He shrugged and leaned down to get closer to the sinks in his best imitation of Hermione's prim mannerisms, even pausing for a moment and tapping the sink in confusion. Hermione narrowed her eyes. _7 years of shallow arguing. _Her thoughts stung and she had to turn away to prevent the tears. Her mind was always coming back to the same place.

After a long pause, he let out a horrible strangled noise. If Hermione's attempt was German, this was a savage sacrificial chant.

But Hermione's triumphant grin came too soon, because at this point the sinks had began to separate to make way for the entrance into the Chamber of Secrets. _This would be their love story. _Hermione looked at Ron who was eyeing the opening with excitement and amazement. _No, there has to be more. _

Ron sat closer to the opening, looking in with a grimace. He grinned nervously. _There's the Ronald that she knew._ "I'll go first." She had no time to argue. In one quick motion he had jumped into the chasm. The bathroom was once again silent and she stared into the hole, with tears falling for the second time that night. _No, this is it. There's no love story. _And gathering herself , she jumped into the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets.

**I'm into sassy characters and Hermione/Ron always felt so naturally sassy together ;) so hopefully this type of dialogue is to your liking! I also promise a lot more romance as my story progresses. I'm just very big on build up and natural timing. I hope you're enjoying my story so far, and thank you to anyone who's reading and keeping up :') **


	3. Chapter 3

It felt like that old muggle tale, Alice and Wonderland. Slipping through the tunnels with the possibility of falling never to cease.

The surreal reality of what they were doing was resting in her chest to add to the lumped together feelings of negativity. It felt purely laughable. Two 7th year wizards? _They were nothing special_. They had no chosen boy with them. Sure, there's brilliance. Then there's loyalty. _But what can you do without the chosen one?_ In the end it came down to Harry and Voldemort. _How much can they really help._ With Harry it's easy to believe that they are indestructible. There's a higher path or plan that he seemed to unknowingly step in line with. A strange mixture of luck and resourcefulness seemed to be constantly ensuring his survival. _But what about us._

She dropped into a pile of debris, Ron already out and fiercely whispering harsh swear words. It seemed to fit the typical profile of creepy dark caverns. The light from above proved to be enough to reveal stone walls and an opening.

She watched as he brushed debris and bones off of himself. Noticing the spine of a small animal clutching at his robe, he jumped and grabbed at the fabric, eyes wide with fear. "Bloody hell, Hermione!" She watched in amusement as he progressively became more and more agitated, "_Ron_, Just grab it!" Still yet, he refused to touch the bone itself and his frustration went from obvious to dramatically hilarious. Her giggles easily echoed through out the cave. He scowled at her and finally let out a deep sigh before putting his hand around it, ripping it off.

He moved away quickly, the whole time eyeing it suspiciously as if questioning the possibility of another attack. Hermione grinned, "Are you okay, Ronald?"

Ron turned to her, glowering before slowly stage whispering unintelligible sounds of fear. There was no hope for suppressing giggling now. He shook his head and eyed her appreciatively before grabbing her by the arm, "Come onnnnnn then."

She blushed at the sudden physical contact and followed, "Why are we whispering?"

They neared the opening and Ron paused, peering down it apprehensively, "er- what?"

"Well isn't the basilisk dead?"

"Maybe it made snake babies.."

She couldn't resist, "Actually Ronald, they don't _have_ young they _actually _are forged in a rather fascinating yet rare process when a chicken egg-"

She suddenly felt a hand clamp over her mouth, "Shhhh you should probably stop talking for safety reasons, Hermione." She rolled her eyes.

The happiness was slowly winding back down into that bitter numb feeling. She was afraid. But not because of the obvious and looming, dark passageway or the simple fact that death seemed imminent. But as she felt Ron's warmth pressed around her, it was getting easier to forget how unlikely survival would be tonight. It was getting easier to forget that she didn't have the luxury to pursue this love. _And that really scared her._

**Thank you for the reviews so far! I genuinely appreciate knowing that anyone is reading or enjoying my writing. More chapters to come! :o)**


	4. Chapter 4

Silence again as they walked through the pitch dark hallway. This was a different silence. Above as they moved through Hogwarts there were the creaks and groans of stairways moving and the castle settling in for the night. There was the erie crunching of leaves outside and the howling swirl of wind pressing against the windows. Miles below the castle, there was nothing. A place so quiet that you began to imagine whispers or brief noises and question the possibility of being alone.

Just when the silence felt like too much. Just when Hermione felt her head begging for relief with noises of any kind, they hit a shallow pool. The maddening silence was broke by the swishing of their robes against the water surface and the plodding of boots through the water. They collectively let out a relieved sigh.

"_Bloody hell, that was almost as bad as listening to Lavender Brown talk about dress colors._" Ron let out a shaky good-natured whisper. Hermione smiled. Despite the utter lack of light, his voice was enough to sense the mischievous smile.

They plodded along. There was water in her boots now. "_Yeah, almost" _she replied hastily, focusing on the best way to walk in comfort. The watered down socks were starting to rub her heels raw.

The tunnel exit was finally in view. Ron beamed at her. "This is the coolest thing we've done, Hermione"

She laughed "Really?" she grabbed him by the hand, urging him through the final steps of the tunnel "I feel like this is a normal day for us."

Another sarcastic reply, "But I mean how often to we get to hang out in the Chamber of Secrets."

"Last time I checked this is your second time, Ron."

"Yeah, and yet most people just go to Hawaii on holiday. I can't imagine why." He mock-cleaned the blood and mud stained tunnel wall with the sleeve of his cloak. " But I mean it has sort of a British charm to it."

She pulled him closer to the exit, laughing and feeling warm and light. She had already forgotten the possibility of death. The only thing that felt tangible and real was the heartbeat in Ronald's hand pressing against her own. _No there has to be more._

**A shorter chapter! I have a lot of schoolwork right now as I am nearing the end of my senior year.. Thank you for reading :')**


End file.
